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“Do you know where he is?”
“No,” Nineteen answered honestly. He worried the director would think he was lying anyway. “And I doubt he’d give his location to an Agency operative, given the current situation.”
“But you’re not just any Agency operative, are you, Agent Nineteen?”
Nineteen didn’t respond, so Isadoris just continued.
“Get in contact with him. Convince him you’ll help him get his kid and get away. Tell him whatever you need to in order to let you get close enough to pull the trigger.”
Tears began to well up in Nineteen’s eyes, and he did his best to force them away. He would not cry in a meeting with Director Isadoris.
“I have a feeling you’ll have no problem winning him over,” the director added with a knowing look.
Nineteen had wondered for a while if Isadoris knew the extent of his partnership with Neptune. They’d done their best to hide it, but the Agency had eyes and ears everywhere. Still, he’d naively believed that it truly had been a secret, since neither of them had gotten into any trouble for it. It made sense now, why the director had allowed it to go on. It was no secret that Isadoris had become increasingly distrustful of Agent Neptune. What Nineteen hadn’t known until now was that the director had intentionally turned a blind eye to the secret affair so he could use Neptune’s trust in Nineteen as a weapon to kill him.
Nineteen tried desperately to change his mind. “I know it’s protocol, but if he’s not actively posing a threat-”
“He knows Agency secrets. That’s a threat.”
“But if he’s not taking action against us-”
“The fact remains that he could. He was a skilled agent. With us, he did a lot of good, and against us, he could do a lot of damage. The threat needs to be neutralized. This is not up for debate.” Isadoris’s tone was cold and completely emotionless. “You need to decide where your loyalties lie, Agent Nineteen. What comes first, your duty to this Agency and this country or a man who betrayed all of that? Are you an agent or are you a traitor?”
“I’m an agent, sir.”
“Then you have your orders.”
“Yes sir.”
*****
Nineteen had killed before, of course. But he had always had the peace of mind in knowing that the people whose lives he ended had harmed or intended to harm innocent people. He could convince himself that he was saving more lives by taking the ones he took.
He couldn’t do that with Neptune.
All Neptune wanted was a life. A normal life, the kind the Agency worked tirelessly to ensure for the rest of the world.
But those people didn’t know any Agency secrets. Those people didn’t even know the Agency existed at all.
Neptune’s choice to turn his back on the Agency made him an enemy, whether Nineteen liked it or not. And enemies needed to be eliminated. It didn’t matter that Nineteen loved him.
Still, there was that tiny voice in the back of his mind asking, Doesn’t it, though? It was that part that wanted to just say screw it and betray the Agency as well by fulfilling every false promise he’d made and running away with the man he loved.
He wanted to give in to that tiny voice, but he knew that the Agency would find them. They could only run so far and for so long before someone came for them.
No, Nineteen had to complete his mission. He was an agent. The Agency had done so much good, even if it sometimes required him to do things that seemed like the furthest thing from good. But ultimately, he knew that following his orders was the right thing to do. It always was. This time wasn’t any different, and he couldn’t allow his emotions to get the better of him and convince him that it was.
*****
They arranged the meeting to be at Navy Pier, well after dark.
Neptune was already waiting when Nineteen arrived.
“Thank you,” he said, as Nineteen approached. “I know you’re risking everything to help me.”
Nineteen couldn’t bring himself to speak. He knew if he tried to get words out he would never be able to stop the tears from pouring out of him.
But he didn’t need to speak. Neptune pulled him into a kiss; what he thought was a kiss hello but Nineteen knew to be a kiss goodbye. Nineteen felt horrible to allow himself this moment, but he didn’t have the strength to pull himself away. He wished this kiss could last forever, that they could freeze time in this last moment of bliss, of innocence, of trust and honesty.
At some point, Neptune pulled away. “I love you so much,” he said.
Tears came to Nineteen’s eyes as he pulled out his gun. He could see the realization on Neptune’s face when it dawned on him.
“They sent you,” Neptune whispered in disbelief.
Nineteen pointed the gun at his lover. “I’m sorry,” he told him, as if it made any difference.
He pulled the trigger.